Well, here it is, nearly the end of the day. And what a day it should have been. The Glorious 12th!! But in this day and age and in this country of the politically correct, the Glorious 12th dare not be celebrated.
No more King Billy riding his white horse at the head of the Orangeman’s Day parades; no whistle of the fifes or rat-a-tat of the drums; no skirl of the pipes and no banners flying. No Catholics kids throwing rocks at King Billy and no Protestant kids hurling insults at the Catholics. Sheesh, what’s become of our country? Now the only excitement comes during the Gay Pride Parade.
Good grief, I can recall marching and piping in a Toronto Orangeman’s Day parade probably thirty years ago. The parade route must have been five miles long. It was a scorcher, believe me, but there was the good king mounted on his white horse, leading a thirsty mob of marchers like you’ve never seen. I can’t say the streets were exactly lined with cheering crowds but we didn’t mind for at the end of the parade we would be heading right over to the Queen’s Own Rifles mess where the great thirst would be quenched. And quenched it was!! Not a dry t’roat in the house!!
But now, nothing, alas. Well, we do have Santa Claus parade but it is rather tam -- no brawls along his parade route. The Grape and Wine Parade is pretty good but it is done in the reverse, i.e., the marchers are sober and the bystanders are drunk.
I think probably the St. Patrick’s Day parades are holding their own; marchers and crowds pleasantly hammered and all. But they too are tame; no good religious riots breaking out. Not like the good old days. What the heck, if we can’t have a good natured inter-faith donnybrook now and then it kind of takes the fun out of parading.
In the good old days there would be empty bottles hurled back and forth along the Orange route. Now during the Toronto’s biggest parade we just have to duck out of the way of flying condoms.
Never surrender!
No more King Billy riding his white horse at the head of the Orangeman’s Day parades; no whistle of the fifes or rat-a-tat of the drums; no skirl of the pipes and no banners flying. No Catholics kids throwing rocks at King Billy and no Protestant kids hurling insults at the Catholics. Sheesh, what’s become of our country? Now the only excitement comes during the Gay Pride Parade.
Good grief, I can recall marching and piping in a Toronto Orangeman’s Day parade probably thirty years ago. The parade route must have been five miles long. It was a scorcher, believe me, but there was the good king mounted on his white horse, leading a thirsty mob of marchers like you’ve never seen. I can’t say the streets were exactly lined with cheering crowds but we didn’t mind for at the end of the parade we would be heading right over to the Queen’s Own Rifles mess where the great thirst would be quenched. And quenched it was!! Not a dry t’roat in the house!!
But now, nothing, alas. Well, we do have Santa Claus parade but it is rather tam -- no brawls along his parade route. The Grape and Wine Parade is pretty good but it is done in the reverse, i.e., the marchers are sober and the bystanders are drunk.
I think probably the St. Patrick’s Day parades are holding their own; marchers and crowds pleasantly hammered and all. But they too are tame; no good religious riots breaking out. Not like the good old days. What the heck, if we can’t have a good natured inter-faith donnybrook now and then it kind of takes the fun out of parading.
In the good old days there would be empty bottles hurled back and forth along the Orange route. Now during the Toronto’s biggest parade we just have to duck out of the way of flying condoms.
Never surrender!
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